the united states says it's ready to help iraq step up the fight against i.s.i.l. hello. welcome to al jazeera. also on the program the first steps towards justice of a massacre carried out in the philippines six years ago. 21 police officers face sanction. outgoing president cristina kirchner says farewell to her fans. we look at the challenges face argentina. blue skies are over beijing again.

the highest pollution alert ever has been lifted in the chinese capital. 20 iraqi soldiers have been killed fighting against i.s.i.l. in ramidi. ramidi is about 100 kilometres from baghdad. its capture was seen as an embarrassing defeat for iraqi forces. the u.s. is offering to send more personnel and equipment to help them win the battle. >> the united states are prepared to assist with equipment to help them finish the job, including attack helicopters and specialist fighters across to imran khan. tell us what happened in ramidi, the relentless attacks.

>> reporter: let me just bring you up-to-date with the latest death toll and injured figure. in the last hour we've heard that at least 27 soldiers have been killed and 36 have been injured. this was when i.s.i.l. fighters began shelling iraqi army positions in the south-west of the ramidi city. we've seen i.s.i.l. forces do this before. they wait until iraqi forces are within range of their cell and then they will start to bomb. this is a common tactic. likely we are going to see as iraqi security forces push further into the center of ramidi, booby-trapped buildings and car bombs. they still control parts of the center of the city, but they're unable to reinforce because the iraqi security forces have surrounded the city on three sides. there is a way for them to

escape. but the death toll is 27 soldiers and 36 have been injured this offer by ash carter couldn't come at a better time, then. >> reporter: it's interesting. his comments are seen as being not unhelpful here, but they're not seeing as being exactly helpful either. al-abadi has been asking for a year and a half now asking the americans to help. he wants help in intelligence gathering and heavy equipment, training, also close air support. why this has come out now is a little bit of a mystery to officials that i've spoken to in the last few hours. perhaps this is more to do with u.s. domestic policy ittics-- politics than helping iraq. the war is ratcheting up in the area. maybe this has something to do with the domestic. certainly it doesn't have a real

impact here. al-abadi doesn't need to ask the americans to give more help. he has been asking for it for a very long time. these comments are a little bit be fuddling to the iraqi officials that i've spoken to thank you. turkey's president erdogan insists that his forces were invited to iraq last year. he maintains several hundred soldiers outside mosul were requested to train fighters against i.s.i.l. the iraqi p.m. al-abadi wants them to move immediately but this was said he had asked for them personally. >> translation: when i.s.i.l. move to iraq, al-abadi visited us in 2014 and requested troops for training. in response we set up a training camp. everything happened with their knowledge. he hasn't said a word since. the personnel there are not a full combat force

the number of people killed in a taliban attack in southern afghanistan has risen to more than 70. a gun battle at kandahar airport lasted more than 24 hours between afghan forces and taliban fighters. all ten of them died in the siege. hostages were also killed. the attack coincided with a conference in pakistan where the afghanistan's leader urged peace talks to recommence >> reporter: the government has launched an investigation to try and find out how the taliban got into the airport clacks. it is a home to a large military base as well as the civilian airport. security is tight. a number of check points just to get into the complex itself. the taliban had released a video showing its fighters in military uniforms saying they got past the check point in military vehicles with foreign number plates and identification.

the government questioning their version of events in launching its own inquiry into what exactly happened. this fight went on for more than 24 hours, quite fierce fighting, a number of explosions that damaged the airport terminal building itself. this is the second attack in kandahar within a number of days. there have been another attack on the main police headquarters in kandahar as well. of course the taliban in september having their largest military victory since being driven from power in 201 when they managed to take over the city of condus and hold it for more than two weeks. they're facing a large challenge here right now looking into how this attack on kandahar airport could have happened and what they could do to prevent any sort of future attack the saudi-led coalition boehming houthi rebels in yemen says it has taken control of the islands off the coast.

according to saw destate de de saudi state media, they have been moved of the island. 21 police officers have been sacked in relation to attack on journalists. 32 reporters and 26 people were shot in the southern province in 2009. the policemen were dismissed for failing to stop the son of a political war lord and his bodyguards from carrying out the attack. >> reporter: this is the first time the families of the victims feel they've received any sort of justice. as it is, the actual criminal court case is going very, very slowly. it has been six years since this crime was committed and since then there have been over a hundred suspects that have been named in this case. as it is, with only one suspect

being tried in the typical criminal case in the philippines, that will take at least 10 years from beginning to end of trial. so something like this in the beginning, analysts say, would take almost april century going by the average standards of the philippine justice system. however, the president promised that there would be a conviction in this case before the end of his term. fortunately, the end of his term is in six months and it's not looking very likely that there will be any kind of concrete development towards that end. the main suspect for example actually died in detention because of an illness. on top of that, many of the other suspects are involved in bail proceedings right now and even though that is dragging out, it is delaying the actual trial from taking place. so many of the victims' families already feeling that possibly after this suspension of the police officers, they might not see anything more concrete for years to come

argentina's outgoing president has made her last public address before handing over power. cristina kirchner addressed her fans. her successor will be sworn in on thursday. she is not going. >> translation: these are the greatest things that i have given to the argentinan people, the empower of the people, liberties, rights. thank you for so much happiness, so much joy, so much love. i love you all. you will be with me forever in my heart and know that i will always be right there with you. thank you everyone macri is facing tough challenges ahead. people hope he will deliver on

his promise to improve the economy. >> reporter: on the streets of the city, to send a message to argentina's new president maci. this man is the leader of the workers union and he is ready to confront the government if the new policies hurt people like him. >> translation: we are worried because even though argentina volt for a change, macri is a representative of the right. if he doesn't give zero poverty and hung anger and other promise, then we will be on streets. >> reporter: macri is taking office in a divided country. while many voted for change after the 12 years of the center left government. there is still many others who support the former government's message. political and economic sovereignty and social justice.

>> translation: the election marked the fight of one model of macri and the other with all the problems. what we are waiting to see is what the next government will do. >> reporter: that depends on the state of the economy. president cristina kirchner is leaving behind. macri said one of the first measures he will take is to liberalise the exchange that has been controlled for years in argentina. but that could cause inflation to spike and that's precisely what worries people here, that if that happens, a government by macri won't do anything to protect the poor and the working class. this is a former chief of the central bank and says that the situation is more complicated than the outgoing government would like to admit. >> all the coffers are empty in the argentina economy. if you look at the central bank

there are no dollars or reserves. if you look at the treasury, the deficit is bigger and bigger. the new government will try to open the drawers and nothing will be there. so the qui question is how do you reconstruct a base of resources and you start a new economy. >> reporter: the challenge will be to do it without hurting argentina's most vulnerable still to come on the program, did anyone leave a plane behind? jumbo have left malaysia baffled. a call to celebrate ethnic diversity in ethiopia, but deep divisions lie behind the fanfare. fanfare.

>> we will be able to see change.

you're watching al jazeera. a quick reameder of the top stories. at least 27 iraqi soldiers have been killed. the united states is offering to send personnel and equipment to help forces retake the city. afghanistan is investigating wednesday's taliban attack on kandahar airport which killed 70 people. the government is calling on pakistan to mediate peace talks with the armed group. 21 police officers have been sacked in the philippines for failing to prevent the deadliest

attack on journalist in history. germany has registered it's one millionth asylum seeker of the year. that makes it the top destination. many rivals were es-- arrivals were escaping the war in syria. 2,000 were registered in november alone. the time magazine's person of the year. we will talk about merkel in a moment, but germany has been seeing a huge influx of refugees. what's the latest on that and the feeling there?

migrants being received here in germany this year. this figure already makes it the largest in europe as a recipient country, but also in recent memory here, this is the biggest wave of coming here for some considerable time. it is worth making the point that we're now halfway through december and they haven't reached that 1.5 million mark, but the fact that that figure of 1.5 million hasn't been reached does not in any way attenuate the impact that the number of people who come here is having on german society and politics, because some sort of tension is going on now in the conservative party that angela merkel, the key ally, who has started to say that actually perhaps the numbers that have come in have to be pa, red back and talks of the tension that this has caused on other parts of europe which have borders with germany.

you have a sense that this number, now that a million are here, the impression forming of how many more people can come here safely. certainly that's reflected in opinion polls in germany where the feeling now seems to be that, perhaps, the numbers that have come are sufficient, as it were, but, of course, there are politicians on mrs merkel's side saying germany is doing something important here, it's a humanitarian thing but also germany needs these people in its employment. so the significance that these people are having on the country she has been made time person of the year. how is that going down? is that indicative of the wider mood in germany?

which finally arrived at an accommodation for greece with a great deal of pain it has to be said earlier this year where people were members of the opposition were saying no, germany must be doing more and yet her own party, there were people were saying why are we doing as much as we are doing. there was also the suggestion that the role that she has played insofar as terrorism is concerned in europe, but also this idea of the migrant, refugees, that sort of thing. there are people who say she has done very well indeed, but equally there are people on social media saying everyone can win person of the year from time magazine. open the doors and create a problem. that is not necessarily reflected of the majority of the opinion in germany, but it does suggest that there aren't people who aren't perhaps, so mag nam mouse about her role that she has been playing. it shows in the foreign community, as it were, amongst journalists and others the role

that she has been playing has, indeed, dynam ised europe from that perspective. we have to see how other leaders of europe are taking this accolade at the next e.u. summit that is coming up soon which will be discussing terrorism and also the impact that this vast arrival, as it were, of refugees and migrants in germany and in the wider european union is having on borders and that sort of thing. i say the view here is very much balanced between the dominant role that angela merkel has in german politics but after 10 years, do people think that these decision with migrants are undermining her support thank you. the lawyer for a ukrainian pilot on trial in russia says she won't appeal against the verdict if she is found guilty.

nadia savchenko is accused of murdering two russian journalists in eastern ukraine last year. ask >> reporter: on sunday vera is allowed to see her sister down the streets up the steps and into the court house where nadia savchenko is on trial for-- nadia savchenko is on trial for murder. because she might testify on this day she was kept out of the courtroom. we weren't, though. for what seemed like a brief minute we can see the woman, a politic political hero. >> translation: i am positive so sometimes i dream the judge will stand up and say enough of this. the prosecution witnesses are lying. the testimonies don't match. let the girl go home. it is just my dream, but what if this happens? i believe in good but the justices take orders here. >> reporter: this is what nadia savchenko is accused of.

last june two russian journalists died in a mortar attack in eastern ukraine. the army helicopter pilot had been fighting in a volunteer unit. the charge is that she was the artillary spotter that called in the deadly strikes. her defense team she was captured by pro russian separatists before the attack, so her alibi is strong. they expect her to be convicted anyway. >> translation: the problem is it's not a trial at all. we may predict that the court's final sentence will be as severe as it could only be. >> reporter: another burning issue is how she came to be in russia at all. the prosecution says that she crossed the border from ukraine illegally posing as a refugee. nonsense says nadia savchenko. she has always insisted that after she was captured by separatists she was smuggled

into russian by intelligence agents. the u.n. agreed saying she was kidnapped. the prosecutors refused to comment. most people we spoke to her want the trial to be wrapped up quickly and the town in peace we're hopping over to riyadh, the gcc summit is underway with the focus on yemen. the secretary is talking at the moment. let's listen in. >> >> translation: the international security council and the international wormed mass a joint responsibility to face-- has a joint-- to eradicate. the council will continue with its efforts in this regard. the summit stressed that extremism has no religion and

that islam is the religion of tolerance. the two of the holy mosques urge for vitalising the cooperation amongst the gcc country trees and the decisions-- country trees and the decision will pave the way for the goals next year. it wi in order to implement all these resolutions within the presidency for the council and peace be upon you all. >> translation: thank you very much, secretary general his magesty the king will talk to you.

>> translation: in the name of allah, the passionate, dear brothers, ladies and gentlemens, members of gcc council. it is my pleasure at the end of our participation with our brothers, the leaders of the gcc council, to say that this council within the works of the 36 session of the supreme council to express our great thanks and appreciation to the custodian to the two holy mosques, the king of saudi arabia and to his government and to the brotherly saudi people for all hospitality we've got and received in this country,

hospitality that reflects the brother relations, the sin veer brotherly relativess between us, and expresses the great relations between the gcc member states. also we express our appreciation to the wise can you say towed i don't know-- custodians of the two holy mosques during the summit. they helped a lot in the outcome of the summit and the results of the summit that are very positive and that's for the sake of developing our path in the gulf and will also help boost our relations and our common interests. dear brothers, your magesties,

in my name and in the name of the kingdom, it is my honor to invite you for convening the next summit in new country to continue together our serious discussions of all developments that are of interest to our societies, to the hopes of our peoples, to better future, to more welfare and to more progress in our countries. i would loose like to express my-- also like to express migrate thanks and appreciation to the secretary general of the gcc and his assistants in their

efforts of the preparation of this summit and the organization of the summit convening this summit in the best way. i ask allah almighty to support us and to give us all appeals and all-- peace and help us to adopt the right decisions for the sake and the welfare of our people and for the stability of the region and peace be upon you all. thank you. my dear brothers, all, i would like to express my gratitude for your presence here and your participation in this summit. i ask you all go back to countries safe and i would like

to express also my thanks to all the organisers of the summit for the great efforts. i here declare the end of the works of the 36th summit of the gcc and let's meet very soon in the future. peace be upon you all we're going to leave the gcc summit there. we seem to be getting a summary from the saudi arabia king calling for international reconstruction for yemen after any peace deal. obviously, one of the focuses of that conference was the security situation in syria as well with calling together a whole lot of opposition groups to talk about.

obviously, the usual issues about who hasn't attended the conference was relatively pertinent. you can checkout the latest stories and so much more by going to the website, al jazeera.c jazeera.com. >> it is a place where the exotic is normal. >> it's really disturbing actually. >> but deep inside this market begins a trail of tears. endangered animals, bought and sold for big bucks. >> get it, get it lockett, get it! >> what can be done to stop this illegal trade? >> he'd actually built a secret compartment within his prosthetic leg and that is where he concealed the baby iguanas.